


A Week of Dwalin/Ori

by charliechick117



Series: Dwori Week [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 19:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/714080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliechick117/pseuds/charliechick117
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>7 short AUs of Dwalin and Ori</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr did a Week of Orwal and I hopped on the bandwagon.
> 
> It ended today so I'm posting them all here.

Sometimes at night, Ori would dream.  He could never remember the dreams, just flashes and feelings.  A slingshot in his hand.  Thirteen strong companions around him.  A dragon.

Then he would wake in a cold sweat with the feeling of unease in his stomach.  Tying a robe around him, he moved to the kitchen, preparing a mug of tea.  The clock on the kitchen wall ticked and the glaring light from the stove top hurt his eyes.

He once called his brothers, asking if they had dreams like that (because they were in his) but they said they hadn’t.  Dori told him to stop reading before bed and Nori just laughed.  But the dreams never stopped.

Ori pushed the dreams to the side.  Dori was probably right.  Ori was reading too many fantasy novels before bed and it just bled through.  He stopped reading before bed.  The dreams got worse.

Normally, Ori wouldn’t mind, but the dreams were so vivid and so real (for all that he couldn’t remember) that he could never go back to sleep after waking from one.

He could hardly stay awake at work from exhaustion.

And so, fed up with strange dreams and sleepless nights, Ori went to a doctor.

The place was nice, clean and white.  There was the sterile feeling that all doctors offices gave, but Ori thought it was comforting.  He sat in the plastic chair, crossed his legs, and pulled out his crossword book.  He didn’t have to wait long for the doctor to see him.

The nurse led him to a small room and Ori sat down at the plush chair in front of a heavy desk.  A nameplate read “Dr. Oin” in bold letters.  Ori pushed the familiarity of the name to the back of his mind.

Dr. Oin was a nice, older man.  He smiled down at Ori and he instantly felt comfortable in the doctor’s presence.

“I hear you’re having dreams?” the doctor said.

“Yeah,” Ori shrugged.  ”But they’re not just dreams.  They feel… real.  Too real sometimes.”

“Tell me about them.”

“Not much to tell really.  I can never remember much.”

“Give it a try,” Oin said gently.  ”I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

“There’s… a group of men,” Ori started hesitantly.  ”On an adventure of some kind.  I’m in it.  I have a quill and book and slingshot.  We follow a king to a mountain.  There’s a dragon there.”

“Anything else?” Oin prompted.

“A… a man,” Ori said.  ”Tall and broad with a huge warhammer.  He sometimes talks to me in the dream.  I never remember what he says, just his voice.”

Oin gave Ori a curious look.  His eyes softened and Ori shifted in his chair.

“I have just the thing for you.”

Three days later Ori was sitting in the office waiting.  Oin said he had another patient who was plagued by the same dreams.  He said Ori and this other patient could help each other.  Ori wasn’t sure about that, but he wasn’t the doctor.

The door opened and Ori stood up, nervously patting down his sweater. Oin came in and behind him was a tall, broad man.  Ori couldn’t explain it, but as soon as he laid eyes on the man, he knew him.  Like when you see someone from your childhood years later.

Remembering his manners, Ori smiled and stuck his hand out.

“Ori,” he said.  ”Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise,” the man took Ori’s hand in his own and something electric jumped between them.  ”I’m Dwalin.”


	2. Protection

Dwalin cursed as he ducked down behind a building.  This was a job gone all wrong.  Things were going smoothly at first.  He had his target (a small British spy).  He had his mission (eliminate).

Then the wedding happened and Dwalin was on his honeymoon in France with his husband, Ori.  That, Dwalin thought, is where things went wrong.

He’d been following the movements of the British spy service, monitoring their actions and spending and constantly sending back Intel to his brother.  There was one loose end.  That spy Dwalin was sent to kill.

Bullets rained over him and Dwalin reloaded his pistol.  He saw his teammates running through the city streets.  Dwalin hated it a little bit.  He was a spy.  Big wasn’t always better and this was massive.

“I’m calling in the chopper!” Thorin shouted at him, rifle on his shoulder.

Great.  A helicopter with miniguns.  Just what this firefight needed.  There will be words with Thorin after this.  Right now, Dwalin just had to survive.

He ran across the street, diving behind a taxi and ignoring the insane laughter from Fili and Kili as they plowed through the streets with their chain guns.

Honestly, this was going all wrong.

Then Dwalin saw him.  That little spy he was sent to kill years ago.  The spy that managed to change everything.  He was running across the street, a sniper rifle in hand and a handgun in the other.  Balin was chasing him.

Without pausing to think, Dwalin ran forward.  He had to get to the spy first.  He had to beat his brother there.  Balin didn’t have a gun, carrying instead a heavy knife.

The image of the spy on the ground, bleeding to death, flashed before Dwalin’s eyes and he doubled his pace.  He heard a scream echo through the streets.  It was his own.  He jumped in front of the spy, blocking him from his brother.

All sounds of gunfire ceased.  Dwalin was aware of all the eyes on him as he stood between the spy and his brother.

“Move, little brother,” Balin said, his eyes tightening.

“No,” Dwalin shook his head.

“Don’t make me do this.”

“I won’t let you hurt him.”

“You would choose him over your own family?” Balin growled.  ”He’s a spy, Dwalin!  He was your target!  You were sent to kill him so Thorin could get the Arkenstone back.  What have you been doing these past years?”

“Please,” Dwalin begged.  ”He’s my husband.”

The spy, Dwalin’s precious little Ori, slid their hands together, fingers intertwined.

“Your… husband?” Balin repeated slowly, not quite believing it.

“If you kill him,” Dwalin squeezed Ori’s hand.  ”You’ll have to kill me too.”

Balin’s hand wavered.

“You… you truly love him then?”

“With all my heart,” Dwalin vowed.

“I was asking him,” Balin turned this glare towards Ori.

“Please, sir,” Ori said, holding onto Dwalin.  ”He was my target too.  I was supposed to kill him but I, well, I fell in love instead.”

Dwalin’s heart surged and Balin threw his hands in the air, stalking off and muttering about insane little brothers and risking everything on a mission and romance.

“Well,” Dwalin sighed, “that’s a family introduction that could have gone a lot better.”


	3. Family

Ori was in the dumpster, searching for something to eat.  The hunger pangs were easy to banish, so long as you didn’t think about it too much.  If he were lucky, he’d find something that wasn’t spoiled at all.

He missed his brothers, but they were good, strong children.  They got adopted.  Not Ori.  He was young and scrawny with thick glasses that had broken weeks ago.

Running away, though, was probably a bad idea.  Not that Ori cared.  It had been a few months since he ran away from the orphanage.  It wasn’t home without his brothers.

”Oi!”

Ori fell onto the ground, backing away from the dumpster.  From a back door came a tall bald man.  He was angry.  Ori whimpered and crawled backwards, trying to find the best escape.  The man looked down at Ori and his face softened.

“What’s your name, boy?”

Ori shook his head and backed away further.  You weren’t supposed to trust strangers.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” the man knelt down.  ”My name is Dwalin.  This is my diner.  What are you doing here?”

“Hungry,” Ori said.  ”The other kids all say this dumpster has the best food.”

“Do you have family kid?”

Ori shook his head.

Dwalin sighed.  ”Come inside then.  We’ll fill you up and get you somewhere safe.”

“No!” Ori shot up.  ”Please, you can’t send me back to the orphanage!  No one wants me.  They all say I’m too little an-and fragile.”

“And are you?” Dwalin asked.

“No.”

Dwalin laughed.  He took Ori by the hand and led him into the building.

—-

Ori wasn’t raised in luxury.  Dwalin’s job didn’t rake in a lot, but it was good.  Ori started waiting tables when he was sixteen and started cooking when he was eighteen.

It was a blessing that Dwalin found him.  He took care of Ori, went to all the parent meetings, scared away any bullies, and gave sound advice when Ori needed it.

But Ori still remembered his big brothers and sometimes he wondered where they were or if they even remembered him.

“Uncle Dwalin,” Ori said as they wiped down the bar, “have you ever wanted to… find someone?”

“This about your brothers?”

“No!” Ori protested.  Dwalin gave him A Look.  ”Okay, yes?  They were my brothers.  The only family I ever had, you know?  I feel like I need to find them.”

“I thought I was your family,” Dwalin looked offended.

“You are!” Ori assured him.  ”But I just need the closure.  I just need to know.”

“I know, bug,” Dwalin ruffled Ori’s hair affectionately.  ”I’ll get Balin looking, how does that sound?”

They didn’t have to.  The next day a pair of men walked into the diner.  They were obviously brothers from the way they spoke to each other and the matching eyes.

“Can I help you?” Ori asked.  ”Our lunch hour is still going on if-“

“We’re not here for the food,” the younger of the men said.  ”We’re looking for someone.”

“Um, okay,” Ori pushed the hair from his forehead.  ”Who?”

“Our little brother,” the other man said.  ”I’m Dori and this is Nori.  Fifteen years ago we were adopted but our little brother wasn’t.  We heard he might be around here.”

Ori dropped the glass he was holding.  Dwalin was going to skin him for that, but Ori didn’t care.

“Th-that’s me,” he said.  ”I’m Ori.  I’m your brother.”

“How can we be sure?” Nori asked, looking at Ori suspiciously.

“Nori, you always were so suspicious,” Ori laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.  ”You wouldn’t let me play with the other kids at the orphanage because you thought they’d take all my toys.  Then Dori would scold you for not letting me make any friends.”

That was proof enough.  Dori and Nori both burst into tears and engulfed Ori into a hug.  After so many years, Ori could just cry and hold on.  It was a miracle.

“Ori!  If you broke another one of those glasses I’m gonna skin you!”

“Who’s that?” Dori asked, worry flickering in his eyes.

“He’s um…” Ori struggled for words.  ”He’s Uncle Dwalin.”

“Uncle Dwalin?” his brothers repeated.

Dwalin burst through the kitchen doors, face red and a vein in his head pounding.  Nori and Dori both pushed Ori behind them.  Dwalin’s anger ebbed as he caught sight of the three.

“Uncle Dwalin,” Ori peered around his brothers, “these are my brothers.”

—-

Little orphan Ori hadn’t been an orphan in a long time.  He had his brothers.  He had Uncle Dwalin and Uncle Balin and all the cousins that came along with them.

It was dysfunctional, for Nori could never resist pushing all of Dwalin’s buttons and Dori fussed over Fili and Kili worse than Dis.  But Ori couldn’t have wished for a better family.


	4. Cold

Dwalin was almost certain he was going to kill his brother.  He looked up at the coffee shop and back down at his phone.  This was the place.  A quaint little shop on the street corner.  Yep.  Dwalin was going to kill his brother.

Stealing his nerve, Dwalin walked in, a tiny bell dinging.  The inside was just as quaint.  Small tables scattered about, comfortable chairs and sofas surrounding.  A counter with chalkboard menu.  Balin was in a corner, sipping his coffee and reading the paper.

This was one of those places that served coffee in ceramic mugs as well as those paper travel cups.  Dwalin hated it.  Moodily, he stormed to his brother and sat down with a huff.

“Don’t be like that, brother,” Balin reprimanded.  ”Go get yourself a coffee.  The boy at the counter is a master.”

Rolling his eyes and grumbling all the while, Dwalin waited in line.  He was just going to get a plain cup of black coffee.  He didn’t need anything more.  The boy at the counter was young, probably just started college.  Wheat colored hair, lopsided smile, and nimble hands.  His name tag read Ori.

“Hello,” Ori greeted him with a smile.  ”What can I get for you today?”

“Coffee.  Black,” Dwalin grunted.

“Oh, you’re one of those,” Ori said. messing with the machines around him.

“Those what?”

“One of those people who think coffee should be black and bitter,” Ori shrugged, sliding a mug on the counter.  ”That’ll be $5 please.”

Dwalin took the mug, tossed his money on the counter, and sat by Balin.  He took a sip.  The coffee was really quite good.  He set the mug on the table and he and Balin began their meeting.

It was more a formality than anything else.  Thorin’s law firm was working hard to dethrone Smaug’s corporate enterprise and they might have gotten the goods they need.  They talked for so long that when Dwalin reached for his coffee, it was cold.

Nothing worse than cold coffee.

—-

A month later, Dwalin realized that he’d been coming to the same coffee shop every day on his way to the firm.  Sometimes he would sit in the corner and look over case files, sometimes he would grab his travel cup and run for the bus.  Ori was behind the counter every day.

He learned that the coffee shop was owned by a man named Dori, a close friend of Balin’s.  He ran it with his two brothers.  Nori did the baking and Ori did the coffee.

He learned that Ori was a college student, working hard on his linguistics degree.  He learned that he liked the way Ori’s cheeks flushed when he was complimented and the light in his eyes when a customer takes a sip of his coffee.

He also learned the some sugar, creamer, and a hint of hazelnut wasn’t bad in coffee.

But mostly he sat and watched Ori work.

Dwalin came in early to the coffee shop today.  They just opened and he was the only customer.  As soon as he walked in, Nori wordlessly pulled out a blueberry muffin and handed it to Ori, who was mixing up Dwalin’s signature cup.

Perhaps Dwalin has come in one too many times.  He sat down in his corner (and it was  _his_  corner) and pulled out the book Ori suggested to him.

“Do you like it?” Ori asked, sitting across from Dwalin.  ”The book, I mean.”

“It’s not bad,” Dwalin shrugged.  ”Shouldn’t you be working?”

“No one’s here yet,” Ori pointed out.  He leaned forward a bit and his eyes sparkled.  ”Just you and me.”

Dwalin swallowed and put the book down by his coffee.  ”Did you want to talk?”

“Yes, tell me about yourself,” Ori propped his head up in his hands.  ”You know all about me, it’s only fair.”

So Dwalin told Ori about his brother and his best friend.  He talked about the Erebor Law Firm and how they just won their big case against Smaug for embezzlement.  Ori was a captive audience and nodded at all the right moments and asked all the right questions.

“Is there anything else?” Dwalin asked.

“Just one,” Ori sat up straight, his cheeks dusted with pink.  ”Are you free Friday night?”

“I should be, why?”

“Would you be opposed to dinner?” Ori asked.  ”With me.  Like a date, maybe.”

Dwalin was blushing at this point and his chest was warm.  He couldn’t help break out a smile.

“I’d love to.”

The bell dinged and Ori ran off to do his job.  Dwalin reached for his coffee only to find that during the conversation it had grown cold.

For once, Dwalin didn’t mind the cold coffee.


	5. Lessons

25 Lessons Learned- by Ori

  1. Always say please and thank you
  2. Don’t become like Nori
  3. Eat your greens
  4. Practice writing- daydreaming is not a profession
  5. Don’t ever sneak out to the practice fields
  6. Don’t accept gifts from Nori (they’re probably stolen)
  7. Be polite to guests even if you don’t like them
  8. Don’t stare at Dwalin
  9. Stop daydreaming about him too
  10. Try not to be reckless and get yourself killed
  11. Ignore Lesson 10 and go on a quest anyway
  12. Small contributions are still contributions
  13. Don’t poke fun at the hobbit
  14. Don’t stare at Dwalin
  15. Let Dori mother you.  It’s the only thing he has left
  16. A warhammer isn’t that bad of a weapon
  17. When you catch Dwalin staring at you, smile
  18. Listen when Dwalin talks (not hard, he has a wonderful voice)
  19. It’s okay to cry
  20. It’s okay to comfort Dwalin when he cries
  21. Ignore brothers’ protests when Dwalin courts you
  22. Courting is a process much too long and wearisome
  23. Staring at you beloved is expected and welcomed
  24. Daydreaming about him is too
  25. Don’t ever let him go.




	6. Metal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has Bilbo/Thorin and Nori/Bofur - mostly background.

When Dwalin and Thorin decided to create a band they realized a small problem.  Neither of them could play the bass.  Dwalin could pound on the drums forever and Thorin had a screaming metal voice and could shred the guitar, but no bassist.

Hard to be a punk metal band without a bass.

So they set up auditions in Thorin’s garage and waited.  Most of the bassists that showed up were burnouts or too drugged up to read music.  Thorin and Dwalin might be metal but that didn’t mean they didn’t write their own music.  Give them some credit.

But after a whole day they managed to narrow the selection down to a few candidates.  Oin was out, his hearing was going from sitting too close to loud speakers as a child.  Bifur was just too scary (yes that is a thing), even though he was very talented.  They were thinking about recruiting Thorin’s cousin Fili when a small kid ran to the garage.

Dwalin chuckled.  This kid had to still be in high school, sixteen or seventeen at the most, and wearing a t-shirt and converse.  Hardly their type.  He was going to brush him off, but Thorin let the kid play.

And the kid (who was actually twenty) was  _good_.  Better than Bifur even.  His bass was thrumming and pounding and he could even sing.  They recruited him on the spot and his only condition was that his brother (another guitar player) be recruited as well.

And suddenly they were a band.

—-

Thorin had connections with some recording studio run by a little man named Bilbo Baggins and within a year they had their first album out.  Somewhere along the line they picked up Bofur as a keyboardist.

Then they decided to go on tour.  Not to be cliche, but that’s when everything changed.

They were living in a bus, the five of them with Bilbo at the wheel, leaving his studio to his cousin Frodo.  Normally this wouldn’t be problem if Nori and Bofur hadn’t hooked up somewhere in Cincinnati and kept using the bus for their hook ups.  Then Bilbo and Thorin got it on and Ori and Dwalin spent more nights in hotels than on the bus.

“Some people, I guess,” Ori sighed, opening the door to their room.

“We could sell it to the tabloids,” Dwalin suggested.  ”Punk Metal Band All Gay and Banging Each Other.”

“We’d either lose all fanbase or gain thousands more,” Ori laughed.  ”Though the headline would probably read ‘Bassist and Drummer kicked from Bus because Band Mates can’t keep it in their Pants.”

“That’d be good too,” Dwalin fell on the bed.

“For the first one to work you and I would…” Ori stopped.

Dwalin looked over at Ori blushing, fumbling with his bass.

“What were you going to say?” Dwalin asked.

“It’s nothing,” Ori shook his head.  ”Just talking without thinking.”

“You think too much anyway, speak up.”

“I might be in love with you and if you wanna do me then I’d let you and that headline would be completely accurate about us all banging each other and that really doesn’t bother me,” Ori said in a rush.

“Well then,” Dwalin chuckled.  ”Can’t disappoint the press, can we?”

“No, I suppose we can’t,” Ori smiled.


	7. The Free For All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dwalin is a Pirate and Ori is a Merman.

Dori always told him to never, ever, under any circumstances, to go to the surface.  Nori spent most of his time near the surface, flipping his tail, tossing his hair, and luring pirates and sailors out into sea.  Dori called him a siren.

But Ori wanted to go up there.  He wanted to see the sun without miles of ocean in the way.  He wanted to see the birds and look at the clouds.  And he wanted to see humans.

Dori always said that the humans would catch and kill him.

Nori said the humans wouldn’t.

Ori spent most of his days swimming along the surface, peeking at ships and watching the humans.  He would have left it alone after the first few looks, but then he spied a pirate ship.  Nori said pirates were the best and would give Nori jewelry to lure other ships towards them.

The ship was called the Arkenstone and had the rowdiest group of men Ori had ever seen.  The captain had long black hair that flowed in the wind.  Beside him was a man as big as mountains with tattoos along his skin.

Something tingled along Ori’s tail and went up his back to the top of his head.  The man was gorgeous.

The pirate ship spent a lot of time in Ori’s reef.  They must have a home nearby.  Ori learned that the captain was named Thorin and his first mate was Dwalin.  They were pirates out of necessity, since Thorin had lost his fortune.

Ori got reckless.  He got too close to the ship too often and someone noticed.

“Uncle!” Fili (the blond one) shouted.  ”There’s a kid in the water!”

Ori dove beneath the waves just as the entire crew leaned over the edge.  Thorin hit Fili for lying and they went back to business.  Ori peeked out of the water and Fili’s face was right in front of his.

“Who are you?” Fili asked.

Ori shook his head and swam away.  Dori scolded him for being out so late.  Ori didn’t go up to the surface for a week.  Nori came back with presents gifted from the pirates and gave Ori a heavy necklace in the shape of a sun.

“From the Arkenstone,” Nori boasted proudly.  ”They’re the best bunch of pirates I ever did meet.”

“They’ll capture you and put you on display,” Dori said.  ”Ori, dear, stay away from the humans.”

Ori nodded.  Same old drivel.

He was going to see if the Arkenstone was in the reef when a tremendous thunderstorm hit.  The waves crashed and lightning flashed across the sky.  Ori had seen the shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean.  He’d seen the skeletons of sailors who drowned in such storms.

The image of Dwalin drowning made Ori freeze and, ignoring all of Dori’s protests, swam for the surface as fast as he could.

The Arkenstone was tossed around like toy.  Thorin was shouting and his crew was running around wildly.  A wave rose and crashed over the ship.  Barrels and boxes were swept off the deck.

And one pirate.

Ori gasped and swam.  His tail was burning and his chest was heaving, but he had to save Dwalin.  He had to.  Ori found a floating barrel and dragged Dwalin over it.  There was no time to get him back to the ship, not in this storm.

A small island was close.  If Ori could just get Dwalin there then he could be safe.  At least for a while.  The storm raged on and Ori was frozen from the rain.  His muscles were aching but he was so close.  Just a little bit further…

The ocean swelled beneath them and the wave crashed on the island.  Dwalin groaned as they hit the land and Ori gasped.  The wave pushed them onto the grass, beyond the sandy shore.

Ori’s tail started to dry despite the torrents of rain.  Oh help him, it hurt.  The scales would start to flake off and then Ori would be nothing but a fried fish on an island.  The ocean was so far away but if Ori could just make it there, to the sweet salty water.

He crawled.  Dwalin was safe.  Ori had to get back to the water.  The rain eased the pain, but not nearly enough as the storm started fading away.  Hot tears of frustration escaped Ori’s eyes.  His hands scrabbled on the sand.  He was so close.  He could taste the water.

But it was so dry.  It hurt his tail to wiggle even an inch.  Ori collapsed onto the damp sand.  He would die on this island.  Dori would never know what happened.

Dwalin was safe.

With that single thought, Ori closed his eyes, ready to sleep.

Someone was shaking him.  It hurt badly and he wanted to open his eyes to tell whoever it was to stop.  Couldn’t they see he was dying here?  But his eyes were gummy and dry.

“Wake up,” a deep voice intoned.

“No,” Ori refused.

Strong arms were lifting him then and Ori really did open his eyes.  Dwalin was carrying him to the ocean, limping heavily.

“Perhaps I’ll see you again,” Dwalin said.  ”My little ocean angel.”

Ori’s throat was dry but how he wanted to say yes.  Then he was flying through the air and crashed into the ocean.  The water was warm on his skin and flaky scales.  He took a deep breath and felt rejuvenated.

Ori swam back to the shore.  Dwalin had collapsed and was rubbing his leg, face contorted in pain.  He crawled out, still close to the water, and put a hand on Dwalin’s leg.  Dori insisted Ori learn a bit of healing magic and, while Ori was never that good, he knew enough.

He eased the torn muscles and bruised bones and Dwalin stared at him.

“Thank you,” Ori whispered.

Dwalin kissed him.


End file.
